In the 1961-62 season, point guard Oscar Robertson became the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season, with 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists. Robertson also set a then-NBA record for the most triple-doubles during the regular season with 41 triple-doubles; the record would stand for over half a century until Russell Westbrook recorded 42 in 2016-17 and joined Robertson as the only other player to average a triple-double for an entire season.
Under Rick Adelman's guidance, the Kings were one of the most successful teams in the Western Conference, qualifying for the playoffs every year of his Sacramento career and compiling a 395-229 regular-season record, for a .633 winning percentage.
The Kings made center Pervis Ellison the first overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft. Teammate Danny Ainge gave Ellison the nickname "Out of Service Pervis" for the many injuries that would plague him during his professional career. An injury kept him on the sidelines for 48 of 82 games of his rookie year, after which he was traded to the Washington Bullets in a three-team trade involving the Utah Jazz that also sent Jeff Malone to the Jazz and Eric Leckner, Bob Hansen, and draft picks to the Kings.
Sim Bhullar made history when he checked in the fourth quarter for the final 16.1 seconds of the Kings' 116-111 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, becoming the first player of Indian descent to play in an NBA game.
Point guard Bobby Jackson had his best years in Sacramento where he was known as "Action Jackson" and a crowd favorite. In 2002-03, he won the Sixth Man of the Year Award, coming off the bench to average 15.2 points, 3.1 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.
Spud Webb, who spent five seasons with the Kings, is known for winning the NBA Slam Dunk Contest despite being one of the shortest players in NBA history at 5 ft 7 in.
"Coach Rod Strickland at Kentucky gave me the name," DeMarcus Cousins explained in a 2010 interview. "I would be playing ball and I would do moves that guards would do and coach Strickland said, 'Man, you got a lot of Boogie.' Every time I walked into the gym he would say, 'What's up Boogie!' and it just stuck."
Vlade Divac was the first player born and trained outside the United States to play in over 1,000 games in the NBA and one of only seven players in NBA history to record 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists, and 1,500 blocked shots. The Kings retired his No. 21 jersey in a ceremony on March 31, 2009.
Spud Webb led the NBA in free throw percentage during his last season in Sacramento (1994-95), shooting 93.4 percent (after shooting 81.3 percent the previous season).
SHARE THIS PAGE!